


Goodbye, Hello

by NerdsNeedLoveToo



Category: Hit the Floor (TV)
Genre: FIx It, Future Fic, M/M, Reunion, keeps with canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 01:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15353142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdsNeedLoveToo/pseuds/NerdsNeedLoveToo
Summary: In a city-wide blackout, Jude comes home from an exhausting day and night in the office only to be met with an intruder in the pitch black of his apartment.





	Goodbye, Hello

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own Hit the Floor. I just miss Zero.

Keys clanked when they hit the entry table at 2AM. It had finally cooled down from the scorching LA heat when Jude had just walked into a pitch black apartment. He hated days like this.

  
He’d been stuck at the arena all day and into the night, dealing with the city-wide blackout. One generator had died in an explosive blaze of glory, killing all but critical functions in the arena. Apparently general air conditioning for the arena wasn’t critical, so he’d fucking boiled all day. After dealing with the lack of air conditioning on their vital computer servers, he had finally given up soothing frayed nerves of his resident geeks and headed home, not caring whether their systems were fried. It had been a hell of a day and Jude wanted nothing more than a scotch, bare feet, and to get rid of the fucking tie that felt like a noose.

  
That was the only explanation why he missed the signs that he wasn’t alone.

  
“Jesus!” he shouted when a flashlight snicked on from the other side of the room. He barked, “What the hell?!? Who’s here?”

  
He’d raised his fists, ready to defend, awkwardly gripping his phone in his fist. Then froze as the intruder’s light flashed around the room.

  
Seconds ticked by, until the man who stood at the edge of the couch finally held the flashlight at the right angle, illuminating the intruder’s features.

  
“Zero?”

  
The man in question smiled and replied, “I still had a key. I didn’t know if you’d be okay with it, but…”

  
Jude’s initial reaction – one he’d been training himself out of for the past five years – was to acquiesce and automatically dismiss his own concerns. But he had been working on valuing himself more since Zero left. So instead, Jude replied, “Actually, I think I’d like that key back.”

  
Jude found Zero’s soft smile confusing. The Zero he used to know would’ve plowed over him and his feelings, so the look on the other man’s face baffled him. It was the kind of smile that spoke of pride. And it encouraged Jude to be a little bold when it came to this man. So Jude paused, tilted his head and studied his former lover for a handful of heartbeats, and then said, “And I’d like to know why you’re here.”

  
Because goddamn it, he’d finally gotten over the former ball player.

  
Zero, for his part, had the good graces to look away. It was the first acknowledgement of his culpability in the pain he’d caused Jude. While Zero struggled to find words, Jude watched emotions pass across his face. It seemed like Zero would never answer… until he did.

  
The power, thank fuck, flicked back to life. And the kitchen and living room lights came to life. And seeing Zero’s face made Jude’s heart stutter. Neither looked away. With better illumination, Jude could more closely study Zero. And Zero could study Jude.

  
The adoration Jude found in Zero’s soft gaze stole his breath.

  
It had been five years. Five desperately long years filled with pain and regret – blessedly broken up by moments of sanity-saving love. So many emotions had filled the void Zero had left, although all of them left him still achingly alone. Jude had finally learned to move on and let go. He’d come to accept he would forever be alone. But standing in his home, staring at Zero, the truth came crashing back. He’d never gotten over Zero. Every emotion burst up in him, and his hands began to tremble.

  
“You asked me a couple questions the day I left – the day I said no to your proposal. The answer is you are my future,” Zero stated, stepping forward. The way Zero’s eyes watered and his hands shook calmed Jude’s own tightly wound nerves a fraction. “The answer is that we are both worth it.”

  
Those words threw Jude back five years. Back to the same room.

  
He’d asked Zero to marry him. He could admit now that desperation had been part of his motivation. Zero had been withdrawing. Jude hadn’t known why. Not until it was too late. But promises had to be kept, and so for years Jude suffered alone. Lionel assumed Zero left because he hadn’t accepted his bisexuality and was incapable of commitment. She couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

  
Zero had left because he’d been slowly overcoming his fear of rejection and wanted nothing more than commitment.  


It all came to a head when Jude, in a desperate moment, had popped the question.

  
Zero had said no. But not for the reasons Lionel thought. Not even the reasons Jude thought. After all, being the insecure lonely man he’d been for so many years, his first thought had been that he’d been unable to make Zero happy. That hadn’t been it at all.

  
There had been a reason Zero faded into the background. There’d been a purpose to his madness. Thered been a singular cause that propelled him out of basketball altogether. There’d been a plan.

  
“Does she make you happy?” Jude asked.

  
Zero’s smile widened, showing off his cleanshaven cheeks. He’d long ago gotten rid of status looks. No more blond. No more beard. Not even stubble. He’d washed it all away, reverted to his previous hair color, and simply disappeared into obscurity. After a couple years, no one gave a crap about the formerly scandalous ballplayer. After five years, he looked like an average guy just living his life.

  
“She’s the best,” Zero replied, smiling. Just a foot away, it was so easy to pick up Jude’s hand. “But she kicked me out.”

  
Jude frowned and asked, “And this is good?”

  
Zero threw his head back. God, Jude missed that laugh. He’d gotten so used to finding little moments of joy, but it all crashed back with Zero’s head tilted and his hearty laughter filling the room. Jude felt like the hollow victories of the last five years were nothing, and he tried to rub away the ache in his chest.

  
“I still fucking love you,” Jude blurted. And what the hell? Did he have no control over his mouth anymore?

  
“Oh, thank God,” Zero said, pulling Jude into him and letting desire lead.

  
It didn’t take much for Jude to moan, and let Zero sink into him. Control and consume him.

  
They broke apart, desperate for air, leaning into each other.

  
“Laura is so damn amazing,” Zero whispered, cupping Jude’s cheek. “She’s the best of the best, and I’ll never be able to thank you for letting me go.”

  
Because that’s what Jude had done. That’s why Zero had been pulling away. It had nothing to do with getting married. It had everything to do with Zero realizing he would never be able to move on without taking real chances. He’d spent his entire life building walls, until Jude came along.

  
“It nearly killed me,” Jude confessed. For the first time in several years, Jude let the pain of that time rise up over him and he felt tears slip down his cheek. He didn’t bother holding back the sob when he pulled Zero tight, and laid his cheek on the other man’s shoulder. “I didn’t think I was going to make it.”

  
He felt Zero’s grip tighten, and listened to the other man’s sounds of mourning join his.

  
They stood there for several minutes, until Jude finally pulled back. He held tight onto Zero’s hand when he sat on the couch, exhausted, and waited for Zero to sit next to him.

  
“You told me to come back when I knew what I needed in my life and why,” Zero said, looking into Jude’s eyes. “For a long time I thought I had to make up for my past – to make up for letting Laura down. And it took time to fade into the background so that I could find her again.”

  
“And she’s okay?” Jude asked.

  
“Yeah,” Zero replied. “She’s great. But not having the paps following me everywhere helped. I’m not sure she could’ve handled it then. Not until…”

  
When Zero’s voice faded, Jude curiously asked, “Until what?”

  
Zero’s ears and neck tinged pink and he replied, “We…. Laura and I…. we are seeing therapists. Alone and together.”

  
Jude’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and Zero chuckled.

  
“Yeah, although we are down to monthly visits.” Zero admitted. “And long enough that I am Gideon Cross again.”

  
And that simple admission settled something within Jude and he smiled. Because after all this time, he knew it was real. This time, no one would be walking away.

  
So maybe it wasn’t that big of a surprise when Zero slipped off the couch and kneeled. Maybe it wasn’t a shock when he kissed Jude’s palm, causing both pulses to pound heavy in their veins.

  
And maybe Zero half-expected the tears when, five years, two weeks, and one day after turning down Jude’s proposal and leaving, Zero asked, “Will you marry me?”

  
Jude didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled off his tie, and fumbled with his shirt buttons. But his fingers failed him, and Gideon whispered, “Shhhh, baby. Wifey’s got this.”

  
Later, naked and sated, Jude lay with his head on Gideon’s chest. He listened as his lover… his fiancé… told him about Boston. He listened as he spoke of Laura, and family, and grief. When Gideon said, “I know it will take a lifetime to make up for the pain I caused you,” Jude raised his head.

  
His eyes were puffy from crying in both physical pleasure and emotional pain. And because he, too, had been seeing a therapist the last eight months, he’d come to realize his own worth and limits. So he smiled, ran a thumb over Gideon’s lip, and replied, “Not a lifetime. Just ‘Hello’.”


End file.
